Mercenary
by Don Socrates
Summary: AU; - Perseus Jackson is one of the best in his line of work. He's a lone wolf Mercenary trying to get by, but his long time rival Artemis and her mercenary company have shown up and she's on a personal mission to get in his way, but how will they work when they're both hired to take down Kronos? - Pertemis. WARNING: Strong language and even stronger sexual themes. No lemons.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**A/N: This is just a test chapter, to see if you guys like it, I won't be starting the rest of this story until I finish Son of Odin and Trip Through Time. Enjoy.**

The world renowned mercenary stalked through the back alley with unnerving stealth. His target was inside, but his rival group that went by the company name 'The Hunters of Artemis' had also located the target and had been offered an even bigger sum of money that he had. If he did his job properly, not only would he get a massive pay check, but he'd also piss off that self-righteous feminist Artemis (Note, I have nothing against feminists, that is simply the easiest way for me personally to give Artemis a modern look. Sorry ladies)

For a long time Perseus had looked up to Artemis and wanted to work for her but she had a personal vendetta against men and wouldn't even employ them. It was sexist, but there was nothing anybody could do about it, The Hunters of Artemis were an elite mercenary group that had been black listed in eight different countries. Percy had only been black listed from six countries.

Perseus counted six entry points, two doors, four windows. This was a cake walk of a job. Or so he thought until he saw a flash of silver in his vision towards the end of the alleyway. He cursed under his breath before donning his custom carbine rifle. It always was a feeling of true freedom to be able to carry a gun wherever he pleased. Perseus wasn't oblivious to why he always got trouble with local authorities, the man was a walking arsenal. Perseus couldn't waste any more time. Another minute and Artemis and her hunters would get the info before Perseus could. He kicked down the door and began his raid. Ten minutes later and all hostiles had been killed, all with clean shots. He burst through another door in the structure and it was only then that Perseus noticed that he seemed to be in a derelict warehouse. Why had the deal been here? It was derelict of course, but it was impossible to escape two different mercenary groups such as the ones that were expected to raid the targets.

Just as he got to the table that had the open briefcase he felt cold steel against his throat. "It's been a while hasn't it Perseus?" He heard a familiar voice. Artemis. The one woman he admitted was better than him in their line of work. She stood behind him, another knife firm against his back if he made any sudden movements. Had she come alone? He wasn't sure that she could take him in one on one combat in this proximity if it came down to it.

Nonetheless he tilted his head slightly, the blade moved as his neck did, until he could see the edge of her auburn hair that had been braided into a combat effective pony tail that landed halfway down her back. Her silver urban camouflage was a nice touch, it only served to enhance her strong silver eyes that Perseus could see glinting in the edge of his vision.

"Artemis." He grunted dryly. If this went south, which it already was, then he'd leave empty handed again. She'd never kill Perseus flat out, he was too much of a good challenge for her. Something that she would never tell him, that she actually saw them as equals, but he was a lone wolf, by choice no less. Artemis had an entire mercenary faction.

"So Perseus, are we going to do this the easy way or the hard way?" She asked seductively. She was a huge man hater but for what it was worth, she loved to tease her prey when they were stuck in her fingers, but that statement was only loose at best when talking about Perseus Jackson. She could have had him tied up to the neck in rope and he would still find some way to survive.

"Well." He said casually before thrusting his arm up and under the knife at his throat before turning and sweeping his knee high into her other hand, knocking the second knife clear of his body before slamming Artemis into the side of the wall, holding her arms either side of her body. To anyone else these two would have looked like lovers but they had a long history of fighting each other on cross missions.

"That depends on whether or not the hard way is me fucking you senseless." Perseus retorted, an amused glint in his eye. Both of them were breathing heavily from the struggle but it had yet only just begun. Artemis winked at him before bringing her knee up high and straight into the side of Perseus' thigh. He was pushed back slightly but it was just enough for Artemis to jump and roll free on his range. She instantly brought up her pistol and took aim at the mercenary in front of her, unfortunately there was a reason that he was one of the best in the business. He too had drawn his weapon with lightning speed. His gun was far more heavily customized than Artemis' was.

Perseus looked at her incredulously. "Are you really about to waste me for a sum of money that I know you would happily have sent one of your trainees to collect? No, I don't think so. What is the real reason you came Artemis?" Perseus asked her as he casually holstered his weapon. Despite the obvious danger he was in from just being shot he had an air of confidence that Artemis couldn't deny she was attracted to.

"Are you finally seeking to get over your man hating ways? If so then I doubt you're going after the right guy. I'd just screw you then leave for my next mission, but hey at least I'm honest about it. Now if you're planning on killing me, get over with it, otherwise stop fucking around with all of my missions. I've got bills to pay." Perseus snapped at his rival before running and jumping through and open window on the ground floor that they were on. Artemis didn't have time to register what was happening, she just gave chase instead. Outside of the alleyway were two motorbikes of similar design, both were high powered superbikes. One was a bright silver that reflected light off of everything it came into contact with, the other bike which was what Perseus was currently starting up with incredible efficiency was midnight black. Artemis had caught up quickly and mounted her own bike.

"We're splitting the pay. Sixty forty as I took care of the snipers on the adjacent roof tops. They were waiting for you, you know. You've become quite the little target." Artemis commented lightly as she mounted her bike next to Perseus.

"I'll tell you what. I'll split it fifty fifty if you beat me, if I beat you we go seventy thirty my way." Percy winked at her before gunning the engine of his obsidian black superbike. "Come on Blackjack, let's show the feminist how it's done." He whispered loud enough for Artemis to hear. He could almost feel her glare as he rocketed down the empty midnight roads.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

As the two cyclists sped through the midnight streets of Manhattan, they came to a halt just outside a little storefront that offered a slightly different atmosphere in the back rooms. Just beyond the counter of the dry cleaners was the bounty hunter agency. Now, mercenaries and bounty hunters were very different things, but when you got offered a job by Zeus, the famous contractor, you took it.

Perseus wheeled his bike to a standstill where Artemis was already waiting, inspecting her nails smugly. "Well I guess that makes it fifty fifty, but I'm sure I'll get that back when you end up paying me for sex anyway." He said with ridiculous confidence as he led the way through the agency. These two walking together was a sight rarer than gold but the amount of respect they'd earned accumulative was astounding, no one was better at the job than the two mercenaries walking towards Zeus' office.

Perseus took one look at the name on the door and frowned, his mind already hard at work on irrelevant things. "God, why does everyone have such weird fucking names?" He asked casually.

"Like Perseus?" Artemis prodded him in the ribs. He looked at her and seriously considered shooting her before opened the door like a gentleman. She wanted to say something about it but ignored him instead.

"Ah, my top two agents." Zeus said as he stood. He was a big man who had a love for wearing suits without the jacket.

"Mercenaries." Perseus corrected him quite loudly. You would have thought that after the third job for this guy he could at least get your title right.

"Yes well anyway, we've got something big, something that I want the both of you on actually. Jackson it's going to require your specialist skills but the job itself is simply too big for your lone wolf act. Artemis, I'm asking you as a personal favour to work with Jackson on this, can I count on the two of you to get the job done?" Zeus looked at the two of them with steely eyes.

"Yes sir." They both responded through gritted teeth. Each was given a folder with identical information as well as a nice sum of money for their previous job.

"Well that settles it, I'm going to go and kill myself." Perseus stated happily as he folded the information dossier away inside the seat storage of Blackjack his prized superbike.

"Well, we've got to go through these documents together. There's no way I'm missing out on a payday this big, we're going to have to get over our differences and just get on with it, so are you going to be mature and work through these documents with me?" Artemis asked him impatiently. His answer was not something that she expected to ever hear.

"Sure, seeing as you just spoilt half of my own payday you can buy dinner. My place in half an hour, get Chinese." He said as he put an obsidian black helmet on and roared up the engine on Blackjack before winking sarcastically and driving away.

"But I don't even know where you-" Artemis began in wild confusion before her phone vibrated with a message. It was from an unknown number but it was an address and signed with 'Perseus' at the bottom of the text.

"Very well Perseus, let's do things your way." Artemis nodded, she wasn't defeated yet, but finding a Chinese restaurant open at this time wouldn't be easy.

Line Break Bitches.

Perseus strolled through his apartment. The faint sound of a motorcycle engine died down just outside. His apartment was the second floor in a block of flats. It was nice and he had simple tastes, it helped to keep the rent low. He was wearing tracksuit pants and a black vest that hung off his chest with ease.

A bottle of beer in his hand he was studying his dossier of information. Kronos, a highly sought after target. The reward for capturing this mark alive was nothing compared to what it was for taking him in dead. Somebody really wanted this guy dead after everything was said and done. Zeus just passed along contracts to the most suitable people he didn't actually issue them from his own personal accounts of mercenary necessity. A knock at the door made Perseus automatically walk towards it and open the way without even looking at who was behind it. In strolled Artemis, still in her silver combat gear.

"Do you like mushrooms?" She asked somewhat evilly.

"No." He said as he took a mouthful of his beer and shut his door. The lights were low but still clear enough for Artemis to navigate Perseus' kitchen and find plates and cutlery.

"Good, more for me then." She responded, helping herself to Perseus' ice cold beers.

"I can just pick them out you know." Perseus retorted incredulously, looking up from the file for the first time. She was busy unpacking all of the food that she had bought and was oblivious to his serious case of wandering eye. She had an amazing figure with an ass that he was seriously torn over grabbing.

"Not when it's mushroom soup with duck you can't." Artemis responded smugly. He nodded his head, fair play. "Well I'm sure I'll be able to stomach it none the less." He went back to reading his file.

"You know, I'm not actually sure if this is a two man job. I could easily grab this guy when he's making his daily coffee run. There must be something else about him, there's no way Zeus wants us to work this together if the job is that easy." Perseus told her incredulously. She took the file out of his hands.

"Kronos. Thirty two years old, habits, locations it's all there. Gods look at the difference in those summary fees. No wonder it's a two man job, you're looking at the capture alive method Zeus' included. Check this." She explained as she flicked through a few pages inside the dossier to something that looked far more suited to Perseus' methods.

"Holy shit you're right, I could never pull this off." He admitted as he put the file down and focused on the food. He literally pulled a big wooden spoon out of a drawer and shoved a big portion of everything all onto one plate before walking over to an eating table that also acted as an island.

"So I guess you're against the easy approach?" Perseus asked. He knew the answer but it was worth a shot.

"If I was after the easy approach, I'd never have agreed to come on this stupid job." Artemis sat down next to him. An hour ago she had a knife to his throat, now they were having dinner in low light.

"Whatever. I'm too spent to be thinking about this too hard." Perseus laughed as he got up and pulled out a bottle of clear liquid.

"What are you doing?" Artemis asked him incredulously.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I've already finished my beer, I'm having a drink that will calm my nerves when I'm sitting next to the woman that's already tried to kill me once today. Why, did you want some?" He asked her sarcastically as he took a big swig straight out of the bottle and placed it on the table. To his surprise, she took to it without hesitation. He just knew that this night was about to get a lot more interesting now.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Three forty two AM, Perseus bolted upright in his bed. His head felt like it was being caved in. That was when he noticed the THREE empty bottles of Vodka lying around his bedroom. What shocked him more was the naked figure of Artemis lying right next to him. She stirred briefly.

"Still don't trust me?" She asked him woozily. They were both still heavily drunk, but Perseus nightmares were back, and they would not be forgotten any time soon.

"No, I don't trust you, but I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt." He admitted as he swung his legs out over the side of the bed. He pulled the cord to the small lamp on the bedside table and a shallow light filled the room.

Artemis started to trace her finger against the scars on his back. She started at the nape of his neck, the sensation of her soft caress sent a shiver down his spine. She pulled her hands all the way down his back until she was touching the fresh nail marks that would scar. She noticed the trail of blood that had been dragged frantically across his back. The dried blood stained her very own fingernails.

"Why? Because you've fucked me now?" Artemis asked him coyly.

"No, because I've admired you my whole life in the industry. I'd hate to have to kill my icon." Perseus snorted. What? He'd looked up to her the entire time he'd been a mercenary? But he was a legendary lone wolf sure he had expressed interest in joining Artemis' hunters a long time ago, but she couldn't have said yes then, he was a nobody, but not now, now he was Perseus Jackson, the man with a one hundred percent success rate.

"Why did you wake up?" Artemis asked him, wanting to suddenly change the subject. She'd begun feeling guilty about her past regret. She sat up and pressed her body against his. He felt the warmth of her breasts covering his back, and even though they had been in the covers, her nipples were suddenly erect and poking against his back. It served to turn him on no small amount. She even went so far as to wrap her hands around his stomach, actively touching his finely tuned abdominal muscles.

"The nightmares." Perseus admitted. Nightmares might have seemed like a childish thing to some people, but Artemis knew too well the kind of things that could scar a person, she found herself wondering exactly what Perseus' would be.

"What of?"

Perseus slowly reached into the drawer of the cabinet and brought out an injection kit with a sigh. "Before I became a mercenary, I served. That's how I got most of my training. But the shit that I went through, they deemed me unfit for service. Mentally and emotionally unfit, not to mention my physical wounds. This serum can solve the physical problems, but no amount of chemical will help me forge the torture." Perseus sighed again as he injected a syringe of vicious green liquid into his thigh.

Service? He was in the military, of course, which could have only meant that when he said torture, "I was a prisoner of war Artemis. The nightmares are actually just flashbacks of the past. I heard my closest friends, my brothers no less, scream their last as their lives were extinguished in the most gruesome manners." Perseus looked away from Artemis' longing gaze, he couldn't hold eye contact with another human being, not while the wounds were being reopened.

"Perseus, I'm so sorry." Was all his long-time rival could utter.

"It's fine. I can eventually suppress the memories, but never for long." Percy sighed against as he returned to his lying position in the bed. To his surprise, Artemis laid her head onto his chest and wrapped her arms around him.

"This never happened, and if you tell Thalia, I WILL kill you." She threatened him at last. Perseus laughed at her sudden outburst.

"It would be totally worth it." Perseus grinned. He leant over and turned off his lamp, plunging them both back into darkness. When he got back to lying down, Artemis had gotten even closer than before, her lips inches away from his own. He felt her hand bunch into a fist, like she was trying to frantically hold onto him, but his lack of clothes meant that her hand just rested lazily on top of his collarbone.

"Perseus." Artemis whined with a fake tone.

"Yes?" He cautiously replied.

"We need to sleep but I'm not tired anymore. Fix it." She told him slyly. It was dark so she no doubt couldn't see but a wide grin swept across Perseus' face at the beautiful gift that was alcohol. They were both still drunk but it was the Vodka which had led to this in the first place. Artemis didn't wait for Perseus to respond with anything witty, she dragged her tongue across his collarbone and right up to his neck where a small stubble was already growing. A moan escaped his lips. Feeling pleased with herself because of Perseus' audible pleasure, she decided to continue. She swept her wet tongue back across his chest, across one of his nipples and down to his impossibly set abs. She stopped with a kiss to his belly button before her tongue picked up the trail once more. They had both been completely naked so what she was doing next was easy.

Even in the darkness it was easy for Perseus to make out the shape of Artemis' amazingly round ass slowly rising as her back arched and her head moved lower on his body. Suddenly he could see her entire body right as her tongue seemed to reach its destination.

"Oh fuck." Perseus moaned in ecstasy.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**Disclaimer: Shit's about to get real yo. I think I've said that before, but I like that saying.**

Perseus woke with a headache, but no memory loss, it was very clear to him why the beautiful woman lying next to him was there. He made no effort to get up however, even though he knew that he needed to start making plans of approach on their assignment. Kronos was wanted dead, the man was a high price target that never left his impenetrable tower. The only access points were for pros, which admittedly the two of them were, but the only other thing Perseus could see as an advantage was the fact that one of Kronos' lieutenant, a man named Atlas, did a daily coffee run for his boss. Kronos had a very particular schedule that involved Atlas leaving the corporate spire that acted as a front for the man's true intentions.

Kronos was involved with many different black operations that had caused him some unwanted attention, now the one that put the price on his head had sought out the best, specifically asking for both the Legendary lone wolf Perseus Jackson, and the titan sized Artemis' mercenary company to act together in order to take him down.

Artemis stirred slightly, her head still on Perseus' chest. "Percy?" She called out.

"Perseus." He corrected her automatically.

"Perseus?" Her fake innocent voice never faltered and she continued without missing a beat.

"Yes?"

"I can't move my legs." She told him seriously.

"Well it is only eight am. Give it another couple of hours." He told her as he gently moved her over so that she could recuperate in comfort. A huge smile plastered on his face however. She may not have meant to, but she had boosted his ego by astronomical amounts. Instead he went to go and use his own shower before his one night stand no doubt took all of the time in the day to use it. Was that all it was to him? Just a one night stand? He shook his head of such thoughts, a drunken mistake was all that she would see it as no doubt, he wouldn't get his hopes up that she would actually see him any differently now, or not while she had a reputation to uphold at least.

When Perseus got out of the shower he walking into his kitchen now fully clothed only to find Artemis eating yet more of his food. He didn't know how he felt about this but just chose to ignore it. She was however at least examining the intelligence packs that Zeus had given them, so at least that was something.

"I think if we were to take out Atlas then Kronos would just seal off the company. No, I think we should take a stealthier approach to this." He explained as he opened his fridge to retrieve an unopened bottle of fresh orange juice. Artemis examined him. He opened the metal cap with a thumb and lifted it up to his mouth where he proceeded to drink the entire thing. As he threw his head back to get the last drops out his shirt rode up to reveal more badly healing scars that could only have been made by Artemis' long fingernails.

"What?" Perseus asked, absolutely oblivious to Artemis' ogling. She pointing to his stomach and he lifted his shirt to examine the damage. She could see his perfect body in the morning light that flowed into Perseus' apartment.

"Huh, look at that." He said casually as he trailed a hand across the deep scratches.

"What kind of approach did you have in mind?" Artemis asked him curiously. Perseus came over and lifted the folder off of the islands that Artemis was sat next to. "Lift your bowl and I'll tell you." He explained very cryptically. Artemis raised an eyebrow at him incredulously but did as she was told.

"War map activate." Perseus said loudly. His voice was echoed by a very mechanical crunch as the Island split into two separate pieces of kitchen furnishings and a big metal board seemed to expand over the top of it. A holographic display was soon engrossing the entire kitchen. He looked at ease with his gadgets and technology that Artemis knew he could have made a decent living off of inventing this sort of stuff, yet he chose the dangerous walks of life.

"Holy shit." Artemis muttered off hand as she went to stand next to Perseus.

"Bring up a tactical map of Kronos corp and the surrounding area." Perseus casually ordered the war console on what to do and it complied immediately.

"Interesting. Well, I think we've got a few options here. Either we can parachute to the very top of the tower and find an entry point along the east side of the structure, or we can go in underground via the sewers. It seems that they have their own underground facilities that connect to a water filtration structure half a mile west." Perseus explained. Artemis couldn't help but stare in awe at the genius of her temporary partner.

"Do you always form your strategies like this?" She asked him curiously.

"No." He laughed with an amused smile, "I always just improvise, but when I have a second factor such as allies to worry about I always plan things out, because it's not just my life on the line. I refuse to be held responsible for the death of others via incompetence. This way if anyone were to die, I would simply not be the cause." Perseus explained. His logic was flawless, Artemis had the overwhelming urge to kiss him right then and there, but she uncertainly shook it off. The urge was going to be ever present throughout this entire mission and she just knew that it was going to cause her problem.

"Well, I am NOT going through the sewers, so how, do tell, are we going to get high enough to parachute onto Kronos' corp?" Artemis asked him incredulously once again. Perseus seemed happier than he had ever been when she asked this.

"My old brother in arms, Jason Grace. When I was disbanded because of mental instability, there wasn't much left of the old thirty two commando, so he went his own way and become one of the Top Guns. He's the best fighter pilot I've ever seen. He's got connections still, he can get us in the air." Perseus was practically beaming at his chance to see his old squad mate.

"You were close weren't you? To all of them it's clear, but this Jason, you were very close to." Artemis' voice fell soft.

"Yeah. He was my best friend. We grew up together, I suppose it helps that he was my cousin." Perseus beamed once more. He clearly didn't see him often enough.

"Well then, we're going to see your cousin." Artemis told him with a sincere smile.

"Yes. Yes we are." Perseus smiled once again before grabbing Artemis' face with his hands and he gave her a victory kiss that surprised them both before Perseus abruptly laughed his head off and walked over to a wardrobe that held no clothes, but racks of guns.

**A/N: WOO another character in the mix and a surprising amount of Pertemis. Hope you guys enjoyed, as always please review and I'll see you next time.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Jason!" Perseus called out excitedly. It was the middle of the night, this was the only way they would get away with an aerial drop.

"Shit Perce." Jason responded as he flicked his cigarette away. "You're looking thin." Jason grinned as he prodded Perseus in the stomach. Artemis guessed that if anyone else had done that to him, they would likely have been found dead soon after.

"Woah, cuz, who's this you've brought with you?" Jason asked as he actively eyed up Artemis. She rolled her eyes at him, typical man.

"Artemis. She's the head of a mercenary outfit. My contractor forced her on me for a job. We need to get high enough to drop onto Kronos Corp." Perseus soon explained.

"Not a problem. I've topped the old bird up. Get in and give me the green light and we'll get going." Jason told him with a pat on the back as Perseus and Artemis got into the hangar doors of the small private plane at their disposal.

In the loud bay area of the plane Artemis was going over the finer details with Perseus, "East side, we can climb down until we find an entry point. Got it?" She asked him surely.

"Got it." He confirmed as he checked all of his weapons. His pistols and rifles were silenced and he had a knife on him. Perseus was the first to don his parachute before handing one to Artemis too. Before long there was an eerie silence filling the gap between them.

"I was wondering. What happening when we've finished this job?" Artemis broke out suddenly. Perseus' face contorted slightly before returning to the emotionless cold face that it had replaced only moments prior.

"I go back to being a lone wolf and you go back to trying to kill me. What other options are there?" Perseus responded coolly. Artemis had a though, but she was certain that at this point he didn't return the thoughts behind it.

"Well… You could be my business partner." She said at last. He looked at her intensely for a moment or two. "I'll think about it." He answered truthfully before standing up to stretch his legs out.

"E.T.A. thirty seconds you two better be ready. Opening hangar doors. Tear some ass." Jason's voice cut out as the doors slowly lowered, revealing the city below rushing past. The time passed quickly and soon Jason gave them the greenlight and they both jumped out in perfect diving form.

They soon finished their task and closed in on the rooftop. Artemis reached it first but Perseus was still a fair bit higher than she was, unless he dropped from where he was, he'd no doubt miss the roof top entirely. He pulled his knife free and cut the strings to his parachute still twenty feet above the rooftop. He stills stuck the landing before dusting himself off. "Ready to head inside?" He asked her as if he did that sort of thing on a regular basis. Oh wait, he did, because Perseus Jackson is a badass.

"Affirmative." Artemis nodded as they both proceeded to take the tower by stealth. They'd encountered very little in the way of security so far, the odd camera here and there that they easily disconnected. They continued to play shadow games inside the tower until they started to hit more resistance. This would no doubt end up being the path that would lead them to Kronos. Even so, he'd probably have enlisted an extra security detail to be the ones that protected him personally.

There was a guard doing rounds along the corridor that they had been in when Perseus decided to take point. He held a silenced pistol in his right hand with a knife directly underneath it. His stance in particular made Artemis wonder exactly what he'd been serving in. He couldn't have been regular army, and it was evident that neither was his cousin, Jason. Nobody got sent to be a Top Gun without the highest recommendations. They must have been SEALS at least.

A blur of darkness crossed Artemis' vision and before she could clock what had happened there was a crimson overcoat all over the wall opposite her and a dead body hitting the ground at her feet. She was shocked that she'd been so unfocused, and it obviously showed on her face. She felt a strong hand on the small of her back. She quickly turned to see Perseus with a stony expression, but not even he could be unmoving all the time, it was evident that she was starting to break down his defences. "You ok?" He whispered to her as neutrally as he could, but for reasons that he didn't understand, he was actually slightly worried about the prospect of anything unnerving her.

"Yeah, I just zoned out for a moment beforehand." Artemis responded as she mentally scolded herself. Perseus kept his hand on her for a moment longer and she was actually disappointed when he took it away, but obviously he was satisfied with her answer. Another few minutes and they would be close, oh so very close to their high valued target. Once they killed Kronos and brought the evidence to light for Zeus to confirm it, their partnership would be over and there would be no reason for Perseus to stick around… Unless he took her offer and joined the hunters of Artemis.

Artemis knew that there was no way he would join her company as an underling. He would only ever reprise his role as the legendary lone wolf Perseus Jackson if he was to become Artemis' business partner. Her elite mercenary if you will. She expected that he'd even go so far as to demand his own section within the company to build off of. A few random thoughts had struck her suddenly and she was certain that if Perseus hadn't been on point, that he would have seen her viciously blushing.

The company name, Artemis Jackson came to her but she suddenly realised that if she were to develop any kind of relationship with Perseus, that somewhere down the line that was what her name would become. Artemis Jackson.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

They worked as a team, silent yet responsive. They only needed to exchange a single glance before knowing exactly what was needed to be done. Let it be said that while they hadn't seen eye to eye with each other in the past, they made up the best co-operation team she had ever seen. Artemis and Jackson CO. She could get used to that, she was certain that her girls would eventually accept it as well, for they all knew exactly who Perseus Jackson was. It was no secret, if you were in the mercenary game, there was one name that always stayed at the top. Perseus Jackson.

Perseus held up his hand in a halting motion as they came to a set of grand double doors.

"This is it. I can sense heavier footsteps. They've got increased Kevlar. Which means that they're a different mercenary outfit. I'll storm the front, you're smaller than me so you can get into the overhead vents and perform an aerial attack while I charge. Go!" He harshly whispered to her as he continued to get into position next to the double doors. Stealth wasn't his favourite thing, and neither was assassinations, but it was all part of the job. Striking out in the dark only meant that his target didn't know who was killing him.

Perseus knocked on the door lightly to get their attention.

"Sir?" He heard someone question inside.

"I'm in position Percy." Artemis told him quietly.

"It's Perseus." He growled back quickly before the doors swung open. A swift move of the knife in his hands and his attack had begun. A flash bang left his hand and blinded the room save for him and the new addition that had dropped from the vents.

"It's Jackson! Stand true and he'll fall eventually!" He heard another voice inside this huge office call out.

"Yeah, that'll be the day!" Perseus shouted back as he pulled his custom AR out of it's sling and started to fire off very precisely controlled rounds that hit their mark each time. With Perseus and Artemis both in the zone and destroying the remainder of the security detail it didn't take them long at all before everyone was dead. Everyone save for the man they wanted dead.

Kronos stood defiantly. "No wonder you decimated my security. The lone wolf and the feminist working together. They never stood a chance." Kronos commented lightly.

"So Jackson, are you going to kill me like a man, or like a bitch?" Kronos asked. Taking a large knife from his belt and chucked it into the wall where it stuck. Perseus locked eyes with their target. Whatever happening, Artemis could still shoot him and collect the bounty. He upholstered his guns and gave them to Artemis. He took a knife from his belt and slammed it into the desk.

"You want to die a warrior's death, so be it." Perseus growled as he quickly vaulted the table and slammed his foot into Kronos' throat and swept him off his feet. Sometime later once they had both been brutally battering each other Perseus saw the chance to end it and with one swift movement he broke Kronos' neck straight up.

"Finally. Come on, we'll end up getting company if we stay any longer." Artemis sighed.

"Not yet, we need evidence. This will teach Zeus to make me pair up with people." Perseus stood and retrieved Kronos' knife.

"This is actually very nice, I'm keeping this." Perseus mused before he walked back over to Kronos and retrieved his evidence.

Line Break

"Ah my two favourite agents." Zeus held his hands wide from behind his comfy desk.

"Mercenaries." Perseus muttered automatically.

"How goes your mission?" He asked, turning to Artemis.

"Complete." Perseus interrupted before he slammed down a bag that was dripping with blood all over Zeus' desk. "Inside this bag lies Kronos' head. Here's your evidence. Karma for making me pair up. I'm not a lone wolf by choice Zeus, you know I don't work well with others." Perseus told him as he started to leave.

"Yes well. As that may be, you performed extremely well on this case. Don't count this as the last time I ask for both of you. You get results, and I like that. I'll forwards your payments to your accounts." Zeus told them both as he sat down again and attempted to get rid of the head. Artemis turned and saw that Perseus had already left the building.

She got there just in time. "So what happens now?" She asked as she got onto her almost identical bike.

"You've already asked me that." He grunted in response.

"But you never answered my question, or my offer." She told him.

"Hmm." There was a silence as he seemed to be considering it. "My place, you're buying dinner again." He told her before slamming his helmet's visor down and roaring down the road. Artemis knew that she'd never catch up on her bike. Pegasus was fast, but standard. Percy's Blackjack had been given some serious engine upgrades.

Artemis groaned at the man that had left, but at least this time she knew exactly where she could get to a Chinese takeaway that was open this late. She sped down the road in the opposite direction to get there.

Line Break

A simple knock on the door.

"Do you like mushrooms?" She asked as she walked in before he could say anything.

"No, you've already asked me this before." Perseus told her with a puzzled expression.

"I know, but you can actually pick them out this time, it's not mushroom soup." She told him casually as she set everything up.

Sitting by the table deep in thought, Perseus had a whiskey glass filled with what looked like water, until she noticed that almost empty bottle of vodka sitting next to him.

"You're starting a little early aren't you?" She asked him quickly.

"It's not that… I can't help but feel like there's something that we've forgotten about, that maybe this mission is going to come back and bite us on the ass." He quickly shrugged and downed the rest of his vodka. He'd been playing around with that new knife of his for quite a while before Artemis handed him a plate full of food.

"So about my offer. I'm not just offering a position within my company as a no name mercenary. You're a legend to everyone who's ever held a gun for personal profit. I'm willing to operate on a merger type of deal. You'd be at the head of the company, just like me." Artemis told him calmly and as casually as she could. What she was offering was huge, and to a single man as well.

"Artemis Jackson." Perseus whistled quietly.

"Sounds impressive. I'd be a fool to pass up such an opportunity. Does that mean we're celebrating tonight?" He asked as he reached under the table and brought out a sealed bottle of vodka.

"Indeed it does." She grinned, knowing exactly where she was going to put the next set of scratches on his body. "Indeed it does." She repeated but only softer. She'd made a great choice.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Weeks went by with Perseus becoming a partner in Artemis' Hunters. The mercenary company then went by Artemis Jackson CO. Something that Artemis had actually loved. Not that she'd ever admit that in front of Perseus. Nothing official happened between the two of them, but there was always a day here and then when neither could be found. Everything was calm, Perseus went on those ridiculously dangerous missions and always returned with high rewards and new fame for the company. The two biggest names in the mercenary business were now working together. Zeus was ecstatic as this meant that he could now deal directly with Artemis and by her rights, she could assign Perseus to those missions.

Sitting down in his office, yes, Perseus now had an office, he opened a new email prompt, hoping that it was from Artemis, but as of lately, she was taking every opportunity to come and see him. To give him a new mission or to just tell him random news, she knew that he couldn't resist her when she tried her best to be seductive, and many times she had gotten what she wanted, in the form of him locking the door and fucking her right over his desk. It was her new favourite past time.

The email read the sender as a 'Gaea'. "Seriously, what's up with all of these gods awful names?" Perseus asked out loud, unknowingly to be heard by the ears of Artemis herself. She walked into his office and shut the door behind her. The click of the lock was heard easily by Perseus' above average perception. At this point, he knew exactly what that meant. Artemis walked over to his desk and placed her hands on it impedingly. She stared at him while he read the email. After a moment of silence, he knew that she wouldn't go away.

"Artemis?"

"Perseus." She responded just as calmly.

"What can I do for you?" He asked her, keeping up his ignorance to what she truly wanted. He was engrossed in that email.

"Fuck me. Right now." She demanded.

"I can't as it happens. You should probably read this email." He told her as he turned his computer screen around so that she could read it just as easily as he had. She grudgingly gave up on getting her lust sated and instead turned her focus to what was more important that sex. Her eyes scanned the words and she knew that he was right, this couldn't be ignored.

"That's not good." She admitted.

"Yeah, it seems that the Kronos job set events in motion. They're smart as well. Instead of going after the contractor, they're going after the only people that were capable of completely the job. Which means that if they get to us first, then they can in turn take out the only people who can finish them off. Artemis, this needs to be top priority. This is literally a warning for us." Perseus explained quickly.

"Alright, this is bigger than Kronos though, we can't do this with just the two of us. We need to get together some allies." She told him with a stern look.

"I've already got a team of possibilities. I know for a fact that they've all got experience with this sort of thing, they'll come in handy." Perseus explained.

"Who?" Artemis was caught off by his almost instant preparations for this situation.

"Before I became a lone wolf, I was part of the group known as the Seven. They will help me. Annabeth Chase, an expert mercenary as they all are. Her speciality is hacking and technical systems. If the structure has them, she can disable them." Artemis didn't like the way he'd said her name, she suspected that there was some sort of previous romance between them.

"Jason Grace, he was our pilot for the Kronos job. My cousin will always come to my aid." Artemis nodded when he continued, Jason wasn't an unknown element. He'd been precise and prompt on their airdrop over Manhattan.

"Piper McLean. She doesn't look like an assassin, but her looks can literally kill, don't underestimate her." Artemis knew perfectly well that women shouldn't be underestimated, especially beautiful ones. She suddenly had a slight remembered of an old assassin called Aphrodite, she wondered if the two could be connected.

"Hazel Lévesque. Expert in entry, she'll most likely be able to get us in unnoticed underground, like a whole team of us, she's that good." Artemis was in shock. A whole team into a structure undetected was almost unheard of. They would just have to see how well her skills really were.

"Let's see, whose next. Frank Zhang. The guy is walking warfare, I've seen him take bullets and carry on like nothing's happened. He'll be vital when the fighting starts, nothing will get past that tank." They both knew only too well just how good it was to have someone like that when the situation goes south. To have a combat vet was good, but if Perseus was giving someone praise like that, then she knew that they had earned it. Perseus and Jason were both ex-Navy SEALS.

"Lastly but not least, Leo Valdez. I haven't spoken to Leo in years but I now his skills will still be sharp. He's an excellent marksman out in the field, often opting for long ranged weapons, but his speciality is his amazing mechanics. He'll be able to fix any compromises that we might face in this mission. Any questions?" Perseus asked her, giving her some time to get over what he had explained.

"Yes, I know of Valdez." Artemis told him, her look was complacent and she subconsciously sucked her lips with displeasure at the name. Perseus could only chuckle at that.

"Your team seems water tight. Gather them, we need to get this mission started as soon as possible. Gaea and this 'Tartarus' won't wait around until we're ready to strike." Artemis told him before going to walk out of the door. She stopped and turned halfway before thinking about something, her finger elegantly placed against her chin. She walked back over to Perseus before grabbing him and forcing their lips together. "I will get what I want, but obviously now isn't working for you." She smirked before strutting back out again, leaving the stunned Perseus to make some well needed phone calls.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

The Rundown. A small part of Texas that held nothing but wastes. At least that's what the untrained eye saw. To Perseus he saw an entrance hidden within the ruins of an old flatbed truck. He lifted the bonnet and led the way into an unfitting series of tunnels that opened up into a huge garage.

"Valdez!" Perseus' voice was unsure. He knew what kind of things the slightly manic mechanic could come up with. There was sure to be defences set about the place.

"If you're here to kill me, you should probably know… You'll never take me alive you assassins sum bitch!" Leo rolled into view with a pistol in his hands but fortunately recognised the man in front of him.

"Perce? Shit man, you should have said something. What can the manic mechanic do for you brother?" He asked him as he holstered his pistol. It was clear to Artemis that every part of the Seven were combat veterans despite what their specialty was.

"I'm putting together a team. I've got a huge job in Dubai, the pay will be shit, but there are powerful people out to kill me. Meet Artemis, she was the head of the Artemis' hunter's merc company. Until I came along." Perseus grinned. Leo caught on quickly.

"Oh, I heard about some sort of merger between two legendary mercs. I don't keep up with much these days but sometimes something will slip the net. I bet anything Chase would know about it though. So who's the group? We getting the old guys back together? One last rodeo, that sort of thing?" Leo grinned. Artemis could see why he was called the manic mechanic.

"Yes Valdez, we are. The Seven won't just be the seven of us anymore but we'll figure that out some other time. I take it you're in?" Perseus turned back to Leo. He knew that Leo would be up for it, he never could pass up a challenge

"Of course I'm in. Who else are we getting?" Leo asked. He motioned for them to follow him deeper into the underground facility. He was probably going to be building some sort of super weapon, it was past one o clock after all.

"Grace is in. I'm going to get you to ask Chase. Zhang won't pass up a good firefight. I think McLean turned to the modelling business but she's never been one to let friends down, she'll help us. I've already spoken to Lévesque, she said that she's up for it if we are. If we are all here then that makes eight of us. Plus Artemis' lieutenant, Thalia Grace, Jason's little sister believe it or not. It seems warfare runs in their family." Perseus chuckled.

"Which means a nine man team, you not over that?" Leo asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You know me Valdez, I don't like odd numbers for teams, which means getting one more person." Perseus explained. Leo and Perseus sat down at a work bench deep in thought.

"You don't think…" Perseus and Leo looked up at the same time, obviously coming to the same conclusion.

"You reckon Grim will help us?" Leo asked incredulously.

"Who's Grim?" Artemis interrupted.

"My other cousin. Nico Di Angelo. He's an assassin. But nobody knows of him because, you know, he does his job better than everybody else. Nobody knows who he is or how to get a hold of him, except us obviously. But he has a flair for the dramatic, he has a calling card. 'Grim Reaper'. It's fitting because he's never failed a mission before." Perseus explained.

"So why not get him to be your last man?" Artemis asked.

"Because I think he's who Gaea has hired to take us out." Perseus frowned. He knew that Nico would never take a job against him or any of the seven, but if he was unaware of the target, then it's possible that people could get hurt before they could get to Nico.

As if his words were poison, Perseus' phone lit up with a silent calling screen.

"Be quiet." Perseus motioned before answering.

"Speaking." Perseus continued to have the conversation as he placed the phone on loudspeaker.

"Somebody wants you dead Jackson." The voice continued to come through.

"I know, they sent me a memo. Who is this?" Perseus continued, sounding hardly bothered by the threat this person presented.

"Come now Perseus, you don't even recognise your cousin? You were just speaking about me after all." Nico laughed from the phone. Leo started to panic.

"Calm down Valdez, I don't have your undergrounds bugged. I've got a thermal scope on you. I can also lip read rather well. So yeah, Gaea wants you dead. I took the contract because they paid me half up front. Boy is she going to be pissed when she figures out that I'm now a part of your team." Nico sighed happily.

"Well I guess that settles that. Come on down Nico, we've still got to establish a link to the others. And if we pull of this job well enough then Gaea won't know that you've turned. She'll be dead before she even knows we're there." Perseus hung up his phone.

"So who's next?" Leo asked. They exchanged a glance before Perseus sighed.

"Probably a good idea to get Chase on it." Perseus threw his hands up in defeat. He didn't like working with Annabeth anymore, not after their last mission before the Seven split. But that was old news, news that hopefully she had gotten over as well. If she hadn't, their briefing would sure to be very awkward indeed.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

The team was on it's way to their final briefing. One last mission. When Perseus had told Valdez the pay would be terrible he made sure to mention that the targets were tycoons in Dubai no less. If Chase could reroute their underground funds that were in cohorts with Kronos' corp, then they would have a sizeable rewards that nobody would be able to trace. A job well done, and a payment deserved.

The first to arrive to Valdez' Mexico compound was Chase. She got there in a rental flatbed truck outfitted with a load of equipment that she got Leo and Nico to offload. Next came Artemis and Thalia closely followed by Jason. Perseus stood watch over the compound and surrounding desert areas. There was no way that Gaea would have a trace on the rest of them, not a chance in Hades.

A voice broke through his headset alerting him to something new. "Perseus I need you in here." Annabeth was the one who owned the voice. Perseus groaned loudly before sighing and jumping down from the air hangar two hundred meters west of the underground facility. He didn't bother to grant her a response other than that.

Once he'd finally gotten through the doors to where Annabeth had been setting up her gear he felt the familiar feel of cold steel pressed to his throat. She was going a bit over the top with it but he didn't question any more than he normally would. A small trickle of hot blood made it's way down his neck as he looked on in defiance.

"All this time and you finally bring us back in? All this time and not even a single phone call?" She hissed at him. So obviously she hadn't gotten over it. No matter, he would just make it brutally clear what his relationship status was these days. There were plenty of spare rooms in this bunker and he doubted that the walls were very thick. If they didn't realise it already, they sure as hell would later.

"The group had to split. You know it as well as I do. And don't give me that bullshit, you were even less bothered about it than I was." Perseus responded coldly, not even bothering to look at the much smaller woman before him. She'd changed a lot since he'd last seen her but he was willing to wager that he'd changed even more since the Seven all went their separate ways.

"You two need to stop fighting. I didn't cancel the best photo-shoot of the year and come all this way just to have you two kill each other." Piper's voice cut in. When did she get here? No matter, Piper had a natural way with words and always seemed to get people to see the best option to explore.

"Fine. We'll settle this after." Annabeth retorted as she holstered her knife and went back to working with her computers. Perseus turned to Piper with a knowing glance. "Leo has revealed a dojo of sorts. The boys are prepping it up now. You might want to head down there. I think Artemis is there as well." Piper explained. Perseus nodded and decided to at least check it out. If nothing else then he'd be able to get in some solid training.

As he made his way down the halls of the compound he found himself face to face with his cousin Nico before they both walked into what looked more like a dungeon than a dojo but it would serve the same purpose when everything was cleared and the lighting fixed. Sure enough everyone had finally gotten to the training room and it was more or less just a tournament of who was the toughest. Needless to say that when it came down to it, the final two opponents were Jason and Perseus. Both now drenched in sweat and neither one having a need for their shirts any longer. The women of the room blushed when Jason got his chest out but they went weak at the knees when Perseus went topless. His rigid and tense muscles bulged out of the tight wet skin and his scars were evident all over his back.

Artemis felt a smug sense of satisfaction when she noticed Annabeth wide eyed at the recent nail marks on his lower back. She caught Artemis' glance and felt a furious jealously burning inside of her when Artemis held up her nails with a smirk. But she knew better than to say anything about it. Soon enough the two Navy SEALS were at each other's throats. This was the most intense fight of the day and eventually they had to call for a tie because the fight would just continue to go on for too long.

"Right. There's a lot to do tomorrow and I'm planning on leaving early to get the plane in here and ready for the greenlight to get us to Dubai so I suggest you all get some sleep. Lights out in ten." Jason and Leo explained. Of course that meant that everyone would just be doing their own thing. Thalia was able to get her own room because once Piper had let slip that she fully intended on rekindling an old romance that she had with Jason, a room was freed up. Artemis was sneaky and decided that she was going to be in Perseus' room despite the possibility of Thalia figuring them out. A few hours later and nobody had been able to sleep, but that was purely Perseus and Artemis' fault.

He quickly left the room to go and see about getting a shower and was shocked to find everyone was already awake and in the central room all eating from several large pizza boxes. "About time you stopped." Leo smirked quickly as they all looked at a now slightly embarrassed Perseus who was topless once again and covered in a glistening sheen of sweat. Rough marks were adorning his entire body and there were even a few fresh cuts that had drawn blood, all over him.

"We're having a short intermission. Sorry guys but no sleep for you tonight." Percy winked at them before grabbing a couple of slices of pizza and continuing down the hallways. Well, now that the awkward part was over, they could all focus on taking down Gaea and Tartarus. Their mission would begin in the next twelve hours. He knew he needed sleep, but with Artemis lying in his bed naked and waiting for him, he just couldn't prioritise the way he should. He knew what he needed to do, but he also knew that it wasn't the smart thing to do.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"Let's go!" Jason hissed. He wasn't happy that he had to fly on such little sleep, but given the reason he was awake, he knew that he'd get over it pretty soon. Piper was worse for wear that morning, and on the rare occasion, had decided to go without bothering to do any makeup. They were on a stealth mission, she shouldn't have to.

Annabeth as per, was glaring daggers into the back of Perseus' skull. Thalia, as per, was grating Artemis about how she could stoop so low, to which the leader of the hunters quite neatly parried with how she didn't see Thalia looking away at the two shirtless Navy SEALS fighting yesterday. Thalia was abruptly silenced at that.

A few hours later and they were confidently in the air.

"Yo Perce, what's the plan?" Valdez asked him as he stood up and took his dog tags off of the rack near the cockpit. They had stayed there from the very last mission that they'd all done. Of course, Perseus' had gone with him as he was the only one who remained in the mercenary business, but apart from that, they had all been there. The idea was that the dog tags of the fallen warriors would remain on the rack forever. Of course, when the seven had split up, they had put them there as a sign that they never expected to be returning to this walk of life.

Nico noticed Perseus' gaze that rested heavily on the dog tags. "Jang-a-lang, jang-a-lang." Nico whispered next to his cousin. Thalia walked over and rested her hand on Perseus' shoulder. The other Grace walked over from behind him.

"Don't worry, we'll get through this." Jason smiled but it was a sad smile. Artemis gave Perseus a small sad smile to go with it.

"That's the deadliest family in the cosmos." Frank pointed out. Piper and Hazel couldn't help but laugh.

"One cousin is an assassin so deadly that nobody knows of him. One cousin is a Navy SEAL and top gun pilot. Another cousin is a world renowned mercenary and the final cousin is a Navy SEAL and the most legendary mercenary ever." Hazel chuckled lightly. The awkward atmosphere inside the plane seemed to disappear, but Perseus knew only too well how easily something could go south. With one final glance over to the dog tags he muttered the most important sentence ever heard amongst combat veterans, "Jang-a-lang, jang-a-lang."

Line Break.

"Cruising over Dubai at ten thousand feet." Jason's voice came on over the intercom. Everyone saw this as their signal to gear up. Perseus had gone with the basics. Black combat trousers and boots accompanied by a waist belt that held numerous different pouches. And to top it off he had a completely black tactical vest, but to put that on he'd taken off everything else. Every pair of female eyes were on him, even Nico was impressed.

"OK, the idea is to parachute down the western side of Gaea's compound. Once we're inside the tower, the team that will go in from the underground will be given the greenlight to infiltrate the water filtration facility at the far end of the highway. You can quickly cover ground once in the cleaning pipes and soon you'll be underneath Gaea's compound." Perseus started to explain. The team had been split into two, five with Perseus, four with Hazel and Jason was to land the plane at the airfield and get to his destination that overlooked the entire city. Once there he would be able to give sniper support during the mission.

"Anyone not clear on what they need to do?" Perseus asked them quickly, looking around. Nobody spoke up. With that, Perseus was happy and decided to wait for the greenlight for the first group to get ready to parachute out. Perseus was leading the first group. It consisted of himself, Artemis, Thalia, Nico and Annabeth. Three mercenaries, an assassin and a tech genius. They were taking the direct path, thus needing the extra fire support. Nico would be able to easily traverse any and all obstacles in their path, and Annabeth would easily overcome anything technical.

The second team was a tightly woven unit comprised of Frank and Leo as the main fighters, Leo could operate a small knowledge of tech but if anything too advanced came up, he'd have to compromise with what he had, which was often way too many explosives. Hazel was their real tech expert but it was mainly for gaining entry underground and such. Piper was almost excessively accurate and if she could also fly a plane, then she would have been the sniper support instead of Jason, but that wasn't the case, therefore she would be groundside, working the secondary fire team. Jason was technically part of team two, but just in a different location, he was also in charge of making sure their joint rendezvous to the airfield was smooth.

Almost as soon as everyone was settled into their gear the first greenlight buzzed loudly and Perseus leaded the first team out of the now open bay doors and into the night sky. Their shot down towards their target. Gaea's compound was three towers and a big plot of low plan buildings. It was almost like a small village of sorts with three huge thrones jutting out of the front. There was still plenty of space between each of the towers. Luckily despite how much money this company had, they were still in a civilian area and could not be permitted any automated air or ground defences. Not that it would have mattered with Leo infiltrating the compound from underground.

Team two would emerge inside one of the buildings on the southern side of the complex, while team one stormed the far right tower at the northern side of the complex. If they done it correctly, then nobody would ever know they were here and they would be off without any more people trying to find them. "Go time." Perseus muttered to himself as he shot through the sir like a bullet.

**A/N: Sup guys, long time no see, sorry about that. Here's the latest chapter. I'm going to be more active from now on most likely, because I really want these stories finished. THAT DOESN'T MEAN, however, that I will be rushing myself. If I get an idea and it extends a story by twenty thousand words and another month, then there you go, if I don't, then I simply don't. With that out of the way, I hope you guys enjoyed that, thanks for reading, and please review to let me know what you're thoughts are this far :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

"Enjoy the sewers Valdez." Percy commented over the radio. There was a shuffle in the background before Leo responded.

"I'd take the sewers over being with my ex and my current girlfriend any day Jackson." Leo responded with a chuckle before the radio cut off. Even while traversing the side of a skyscraper, Perseus could literally feel the burning hatred emanating from Annabeth's cold grey eyes. So obviously, she HADN'T in fact gotten over the fact that Perseus had broken up with her after their last mission. Ignoring the boring sensation of eyes on him, Perseus finally managed to get into position on the windows of the correct floor. Annabeth lined up on one side and Artemis and Thalia were on his other side. Nico was hidden. They were a thousand feet up at least and Nico was still hidden.

"Nico!" Perseus whispered harshly.

"What?" He heard his cousin's annoyed voice literally right above him.

"Stop hiding!" Perseus responded quickly.

"I wasn't?" Nico told him in confusion. He genuinely wasn't attempting to be stealthy at all, not just yet. But he was so adept to being sneaky that he was able to beat the impeccable senses of these combat veterans without even trying. Perseus felt sorry for all of his contracted targets, they would never really have a chance against the Angel of Death.

"Fine, whatever. This is our entry point. Everyone create your window." Perseus whispered softly. They all immediately got out a number of tools then silently went about creating large circles to be cut straight from the windows. Each plasma cutter had about thirty seconds of decent flame, so the windows were a rush job in total, but Nico held a spare in case anyone had run out before their windows were formed. Silently the group all moved into the building. One by one they all rendezvoused in the central room where Perseus and Nico had gained entry.

"Team two what's your status?" Perseus asked them now that team one was in positon and ready to start their assault.

"Awaiting your signal team one." Hazel's voice responded calmly. That mean they were directly beneath them by about a thousand feet and waiting to storm into the small village of houses that had been built directly on Gaea and Tartarus' skyscraper compound. The property was theirs completely, they could do what they liked, but Perseus couldn't help but feel it would have been easier to just build another tower to house staff. It wasn't like they were lacking in funds at all.

"You have the green light team two. We're about to start our assault. Give it ten minutes and all staff will be converging on our location. We're on the hundred and fifty second floor. When you get in, eliminate groundside resistance and seal off the tower. Work your way up floor by floor. We'll see you soon, good hunting team two." Perseus told them before cutting off the radio.

"So what's our plan?" Nico asked him curiously.

"Basically hold off until they get here, having worked their way up the tower. Annabeth, once the fighting starts and we've established a safe place to operate, you need to cut off power to the entire building. We'll switch to our night vision and split into two teams. Nico, Thalia and Annabeth, you guys take one stairwell and eliminate any tangos that try to get in. Myself and Artemis will take the other stairwell and do the same. Remember to always check your targets. It won't take long for team two to work through one hundred and fifty floors. Remember, they have the vitals scanner. I'll keep the radio channels open so that we can actively relay information." Perseus told them all confidently. There was a reason that both he and Jason were natural leaders.

"Team two, one final thing. We're going to be holed up waiting for you to join us, and most likely shooting at anything coming through the doors to the stairwells. Give us a warning when you're on floor one fifty. Over." Perseus spoke into his radio once more. He received an acknowledgement before leaving the channel open for anymore communications.

"Let's do this then." He began as he cocked his gun and stood up.

"Loud and proud?" Nico asked him. Receiving a grin from the considerably taller cousin.

"All guns blazing cousin." Perseus confirmed as he ran towards the door that led to the hallways and burst off a few rounds, effectively getting the attention of every guard in the building. The other four members of team one sprawled out around him, covering the hallway intersection expertly. Their tactics allowed them to cover every aspect of this floor while Annabeth worked on the main power line. Cutting it electronically in less than a minute.

"Switch to night vision." Perseus ordered and within seconds they did so. A brief moment of silence before they heard the gunfire of team two, well over a hundred floors below them.

"Status?" Perseus asked without bothering to look back. He daren't take his eyes off of the hallway that he was working through. The earpiece he had in was attuned just to team one, while the radio on his shoulder was set for team two.

"Golden. Floor is clear. Moving to stairwells." Annabeth confirmed, the angry tone in her voice was significantly lesser, there was no way that she could be both angry at Perseus and focused on the mission, and she refused to die because she couldn't let go of a grudge, so for the time being, he was off the hook. Perseus nodded casually and made a swift hand motion for Artemis to follow him. A few seconds later and they were both at the southern stairwell.

"Status?" Perseus asked once more.

"In position." Thalia told him. Then the tangos started to file up and down the stairs. Gaea and Tartarus were really sending everything they had to take them down. Everything was going fine until a booming voice echoed throughout the stairwell that Perseus and Artemis were guarding.

"Oh yes, feel free to come into my home and start shooting up my guard. After all it's what you did to my son!" The hateful voice of Tartarus echoed throughout the building.

"It was just business, nothing personal. Tartarus I assume?" Perseus responded. Everything was quiet this end of the tower and he had no idea why.

"Of course. There's no one left this end of the tower. We only have guards above floor one hundred and sixty five. There's no way anyone beneath me will survive your second infiltration team. I mean come on, the infamous Seven? Coupled with an assassin so good nobody has ever heard of him and two highly prolific mercenaries? That's ten extremely skilled combat vets." Tartarus spat back.

"Turn on the backup generators!" Tartarus boomed. A moment later the light had burnt through the highly sensitive goggles that they were all wearing.

"Ahh! Retinas! Seared like tuna steaks!" Perseus screamed in angst.

A voice burst through the radios that worried Perseus to no end, "Perseus we need assistance, Leo dived in front of a shot that would have hit Frank. He's losing blood fast, get down here Perseus!" Piper demanded.

"Oh go ahead, take the elevator, the power's back on after all." Tartarus grinned. Now that Perseus had finally seen him, he could tell that this was going to be a tough fight.

"Annabeth, you and Nico take the elevator down to team two, assist them in any way possible. Artemis, go and reinforce the second stairwell with Thalia." Perseus grunted through gritted teeth.

"What about you?" She responded quickly. The worry present on her face.

"Unless I'm mistaken, it looks like Tartarus wants to do things the old fashioned way." Perseus grinned, taking off his utility belt that held all of his various pockets of ammunition.

"You'd be correct Perseus. One shall stand-"

"-and one shall fall." They both quickly converged on each other, teeth bared and blades in hand. One would soon die in cold blood.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12 **

The blood was everywhere. Hard to tell who it even belonged to. The harrowing memory of what had just happened would stick with Perseus for the rest of his life. Some of the blood belonged to him, no doubt, but not nearly as much as that of Tartarus'.

Being a Navy SEAL, Perseus had endured torture, and he had seen some of his closet friends, his brothers in arms, being torn apart and killed in the most gruesome of ways, but what he'd just seen would haunt his mind for the rest of his days.

When Artemis had left the two of them, they had locked horns, a knife fight. Perseus was skilled, but Tartarus was something else entirely. Perseus knew that things were not in his favour when Tartarus had disarmed him with a simple flick of the wrist. A few seconds later a foot long blade had penetrated his left forearm all the way through, but Perseus was a fighter, he countered with his fists and yanked the knife free, sending the blade sailing down the hallway.

They were back on even ground, despite Perseus' bleeding knife wound. They fought with tooth and claw all the way through the floor of offices that they were on. They must have been in the company's financial section. The fight continued until they were both blood and bruised and ended up near the open elevator shaft.

With one swift kick, Perseus sent Tartarus sprawling down into the elevator shaft. Unfortunately one of the cable cars was two floors beneath them, and Tartarus landed somewhat softly. Perseus grunted as he grabbed onto a stray cable and followed his enemy into the shaft. What happened next was both a blur and insanely detailed to Perseus.

Perseus didn't know what had made him do it, but his mind had gone into overdrive and instincts had taken over. He lay down a massive beating on the money titan and forced him into the slacked wires that rested lazily next to the ones that held up the elevator car they were fighting on. In another swift movement, Perseus had pulled Tartarus' second knife, free from his belt and swung with all of his might, snapping it straight into the cables that held their own lift in the air.

A snapping of cables was heard before Tartarus' scream. The scream would never escape Perseus' mind, for it was horrifying. He had just caused a man to be ripped apart inch by inch. Tartarus' body had exploded because of the insane pressure that had been put on it. Blood had coated the walls and Perseus. The blood was everywhere.

"Perseus!? What the fuck was that? We were coming up in the elevator when we heard a huge bang and one of the other elevators went rocketing past us." Frank's worry was thick in his voice. Perseus took a moment to breathe before climbing back out of the open doors two floors up form where he was.

"Yeah. I sustained a minor injury. Tartarus is dead. Rendezvous where you guys. I'd appreciate a little medical attention if possible." Perseus explained. There was an eerie silence as Perseus continued to climb. As he got out of the elevator shaft he found himself at eye level with a pair of outstanding silver iris'.

"Hello there." He almost purred as he sat against a solid wall. Thankful that he had the opportunity to take a breather for once.

"Don't do that again." Artemis warned him. He knew that she was trying to hold herself together for him if not for the mission, but he didn't say anything or push his luck because truly he felt the same way about her being in danger.

"I think this whole partnership has taken itself even further." He muttered with a chuckle. Artemis shot him a knowing glance and a sad smile.

"You know, if we don't all get out alive, I wanted to tell you… Artemis I l-" Perseus never got to finish his sentence as a delirious Leo Valdez burst through the doors of the elevator.

"WAZZZUUUUUP!?" He laughed maniacally. Perseus initially scowled at the hyperactive mechanic but frowned when he saw that there was a bullet wound in his stomach. They'd had to cauterize it to keep him alive. Luckily he was so used to burns from machine work or he'd be in even worse state.

"I'm surprised. He didn't even flinch when we sealed the wound up." Nico told them. Artemis had her arms crossed and was pouting. She had a fairly good idea of what Perseus was just about to tell her and she badly needed to hear it. One day she was sure that she was going to strangle the mechanic for his incredibly bad timing.

"Leo, are you fireproof?" Thalia asked. Leo sort of nodded in response lazily. His eyes unable to focus.

"Yeah, he lost a lot of blood, but he'll be fine in a little while." Frank nodded. His gratitude for the much smaller guy was almost unending through their travels.

"Here, give him some of these rations. They're my last ones." Perseus handed them over.

"Holy shit! You've got Ambrosia? I thought the military stopped providing these as they were too expensive to manufacture. The wonder ration was what they called it. Able to speed up healing to a matter of hours." Piper looked at it wondrously before she snapped out of her funk.

"Didn't you say that you were injured?" Perseus nodded nonchalantly before casually holding up his still bleeding arm. Hazel came over and bandaged it up fairly well. But Artemis couldn't help but notice bits that could have been improved upon.

"Right. Next stop, Gaea. There are only guards left on the highest floor. The grand old Penthouse suite. And that's where we'll find Gaea." Perseus made a quick hand motion and everyone filed into the last remaining elevator.

"Status?" Jason's voice came through on the comms.

"TARFU." Perseus responded casually and calmly. Everyone looked at him with confusion.

"That bad huh?" Jason's voice pitched through again with a laugh.

"Leo's been shot in the stomach and is currently delirious and I've had a knife shove through my entire forearm, but other than that, situation's normal." Perseus responded with a small chuckle of his own.

"Alright. I see a helipad, I think I'm going to ditch the sniper and get myself over to you guys. I don't want to miss out all the fun after all." Jason laughed quickly before the line went dead.

"TARFU?" Annabeth asked with a raised eyebrow and a lazy grin.

"Means Totally And Royally Fucked Up." Perseus responded without missing a beat. The elevator dinged. Final floor. There were four guards. Piper and Hazel immediately picked them all off. They fell dead at the exact same time.

No words were needed for what was to come next. There was NO way that Gaea would have no defences set up beyond these huge oaken doors. Perseus pointed at Nico then the air vent in the ceiling. Nico nodded and then nobody could see him. Perseus then pointed to Artemis, Annabeth and Thalia, then to one side of the doors. He then did the same for Frank, Hazel and Piper. Leo held back anyway. Certain that he wouldn't be able to shoot properly yet. With on swift kick he blasted the double doors open. There stood Gaea behind an equally huge desk. But the thing was that it was hardly a desk any longer. On the frame stood the biggest single manned Gatling gun that Perseus had ever seen.

"OH FU-" Perseus deadpanned and luckily Artemis had tackled him out of the way of the doors right as the hallway was sprayed with bullets. "Scatter!" Perseus ordered. He was the single fastest of all of them and if anyone stood a chance of a direct assault, it was him. Frank and Thalia continued to take pop shots at the Dubai tycoon as Perseus sprawled through the doors. A shadow dropped silently from the far wall. A flash of the blade told Perseus that in seconds, it would all be over.

The sounds of sharpened metal whistling through the air reached their ears and a second later the gun stopped firing. Gaea stood with a blank expression written on her face before realization set in. "Oh." She said at last before her head was separated from her neck.

Jason had just gotten the helicopter in place and the group were already starting to go towards it, having known that their job was finally over. "Annabeth, hack into their holdings and transfer everything that is unmarked publicly." Perseus issued. She nodded and connected herself to the system. A video popped up on the desktop of both computers.

"Well, it seems that you've bested me Perseus." She spat his name, "But I am not without my last defences. I knew that you would not let greed subside. I have explosive rigged around the entire tower, set to explode the moment an unauthorised access point is connected. I.E, you trying to transfer funds from my company." Gaea told him from the video.

"Annabeth." Perseus' voice called out uncertainly.

"I just need a few more seconds." She hissed back.

"Oh, and don't bother trying to get that dossier about your childhood out of my desk. Bottom left drawer. You'll never escape alive." Gaea laughed maniacally before the video shut down and was replaced with a timer. Twelve seconds.

"Annabeth! GO!" He thundered. The transfer was complete. Annabeth ran for the helicopter that Jason was struggling to keep level and yet still off of the tower. Explosives? No thank you. Perseus didn't have time to dally, he smashed through each and every drawer until he found the one he was looking for. How could Gaea have possibly known about his ONE weakness?

He needed to know what was inside it. He needed desperately to find out who he was before the amnesia. Before this life he had lead, he had lived as another, but that was a time long gone. He quickly glanced between the file and his friends. Which life did he want more?

With four seconds left until the timer went off he had to make a decision. He left the file and sprinted for the open doors that led to the helipad. The explosions rocked the tower at it's very foundations and Perseus had to jump. He fell, just short of the doors but made contact with something soft yet strong. He looked up to see his lovers eyes locked with his.

"When we get away from the exploding tower, you'd better tell me the full extent of that sentence you never finished earlier." Artemis told him as she hauled him up and held him closely.

"What was so important that you had to risk nearly dying anyway cuz?" Jason asked from the pilot's cockpit as the helicopter sped away from the exploding towers. The airstrip wasn't far. They'd need to hurry though before any officials tried to cease operations there.

"She said that she knew who I was before this life. In the end, I don't want to know." He responded with abated breath.

After a moment of silence, someone had to break it, "So what happens now?" Hazel asked them all, looking around. In her eyes there was some small hope that they might continue to work as the reformed Seven. Ten just didn't sound as powerful as anything else though (Hah, get it? Anyone? No? Oh well. Go read my Borderlands Fic and you'll understand)

"We all go our separate ways. As multi-billionaires." Annabeth told them dead seriously as she swivelled the laptop around to show them the figures that had been transferred to each an ever bank account they had. The silence was palpable, you could hear a pin drop before everyone was brought back to reality and the sound of the helicopter blades whirred back into their senses. It was slowly however, their descent into the airstrip was coming in.

"Billionaires huh? Well then, I guess that leaves one last thing to do." Perseus grunted in discomfort as he kneeled in front of Artemis. "What I was going to say earlier. Is that I love you Artemis. And as it so happens, I have found a sudden wealth, so why the hell not? Artemis, will you marry me?"

The silence this time that filled the helicopter was surprisingly not awkward at all, but as Artemis let out a silent tear, she grabbed Perseus by the collar and pulled him into a powerhouse kiss. That was her answer for him.

"Finally there's nobody trying to kill me. First Artemis, then Kronos, then Tartarus and lastly Gaea. I wonder how long this peace will last." Percy mused as he held on tightly to his fiancé.

"Probably not long now that you're one of the wealthiest men in the world." Frank chuckled. Life went easier for all of them after that. Perseus and Artemis had lived somewhere else entirely in a mansion designed by Annabeth and built by Leo. Frank and Hazel got married and decided to live out their days in a similar mansion estate in Rome.

Leo became the real version of Tony Stark, a genius, billionaire, playboy, and philanthropist.

Piper and Jason became real close but never got married. They led too much of a loose lifestyle for commitment. Piper was a supermodel and Jason remained in the top gun program, becoming the highest scoring flier they had.

Thalia and Nico surprisingly got together and led the hunters. Nico led a very dark underground section of the business. Annabeth formed a worldwide connection of Architectural firms and her closest friends had become some of her best clients.

Things were looking up for the Ten… For now.

**A/N: So that's that guys. Despite that cliff hangar, there very likely wont be a sequel. I do hope you enjoyed it though, and any feedback would be highly appreciated. Until next time guys.**


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